Thursday, September 08, 2005

Recipe: gravlax of wild king salmon

There are only about 6 more weeks remaining for the local king (chinook) salmon season in the Bay Area, so I wanted to take the opportunity to share my favorite method for making gravlax, the Scandinavian cured salmon. My version, which results in rich, velvety slices of salmon (albeit saltier than your typical smoked salmon) is based on the recipe I learned years ago when I interned at the Chez Panisse Café in Berkeley (their version is in one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook).

I diverge from the classical gravlax in one major way. I substitute lemongrass or lemon verbena or, well virtually anything, for dill.

Before I go on, I have to confess, I don't like dill. My friends and I were discussing over the weekend what, if any, flavors we dislike and the only one I could think of was dill. It's funny, because my Indian wife despises saffron and my Filipino friend shudders at the mere mention of ginger. And here I am with a hefty dose of Swedish in my mongrel American gene pool, and I disdain of the herb commonly associated with Scandinavian cuisine.

It's really my mother's fault. When I was growing up, she used to dump hefty amounts of green stuff from a dusty old jar marked, appropriately, "dried dill weed" into our buttered peas. Some herbs just do not fare well in the dried form. In the case of "dill weed," the result is a disastrous exponential expansion of the weedy aspect of the herb. Now whenever I so much as get a whiff of the stuff, even if it is fresh, that gag reflex resurfaces from when I was six years old and forced to eat my veggies.

But, as usual, I digress.

First you need about a 1 pound piece of extremely fresh king salmon fillet, skin on. I buy my local salmon exclusively from Larry Miyamura of Shogun Fish Company who catches, cleans and sells his salmon direct at our local farmers market. I prefer to use a tail piece or the next cut up from the tail, because it's easier to slice the final product. It's also thinner, so it cures faster. Pull out any pin bones with needle-nosed pliers.

Lightly toast 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds in a pan over medium heat, and then allow to cool. In a mortar, coarsely crush coriander with 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/3 cup each kosher* salt and sugar.

Place fillet in a glass or stainless steel dish lined with a piece of cheesecloth, skin side down, and thoroughly coat first the bottom and then the top with the salt-sugar mixture and the herbs, leaving no flesh exposed. Wrap tightly with the cheesecloth, cover, and refrigerate for a total of 48 hours. After the first 24 hours, turn the salmon skin side up.

After 48 hours, your now cured salmon will look similar to the photo at the right. Before serving, scrape of the herbs and the undissolved salt and sugar. Slice at an angle with a very sharp, thin-bladed knife into paper-thin slices.

I usually serve it for breakfast on buttered toast or a bagel, sometimes adding a few thin slices of avocado to cut the saltiness of the salmon.

I've made several versions of gravlax over the years, not all with lemony herbs. I've also had good results with fennel seeds and wild fennel fronds, ajwain (an Indian spice often used in fish curries), and a combination of coriander and cumin. Let your creativity guide you.

* For the amounts specified, I use Diamond Crystal® kosher salt. If you substitute any other brand of kosher or any other type of salt, reduce quatity of salt to about 1/4 cup.

Comments

I'm with you on the dislike of dill - I don't mind it in certain preparations, but more often than not I find it overpowers dishes. I love gravlax, especially with a bit of crème fraiche and a little blini. I love the colour and what I can tell of the texture of yours; it looks perfectly luscious. I hope to try it sometime soon.

I don't like dill either! Yuck. So glad to have found someone who feels the same way, and a recipe for gravlax that doesn't involve coating it with that odd, feathery stuff. Just the other day, I saw a big, vibrant pile of wild salmon at Whole Foods here in New York - this could be just the right recipe for that lovely fresh fish. Thanks!

Luisa, I'm glad to hear you can find wild salmon in NY now...just out of curiosity, which Whole Foods do you go to--the one in Union Square (I've been to often) or the enormous new one in Columbus Circle?

Tara, some day I hope to make it to Toronto and when I do I'd love to visit that bistro. The chef seems to know what he/she is doing!

Hmmm. This might be a good place to use the tops of my bulb fennel. I always hate to throw it away, but never seem to use it either. I haven't made gravlax in ages, so maybe it's time to try it with fennel, if I can get some good salmon. Great post.

I actually alternate between the one in Union Square and the one in Chelsea (7th Avenue and 24th Street). I lived on the Upper West Side until last fall, so the one at Columbus Circle was "mine" for a little while...

Brett,
Thank you for the recipe on gravlax. I have a small group of patrons for our owner-made gravlax and I always had the impression that it was cured using bourbon. I associated it with the way ceviche is prepared (we call the process in the Philippines "kinilaw").
During next year's fishing season, I will try out your recipe on the first spring salmon.
Cheers!

Thank you for this great recipe for gravlax. I never did it myself but recently I was talking to someone about it and tought about trying it once. Now I have found a great step-by-step description on how to do it. :)

sardines defined

sar·dine(n) 1. a young herring or similar small fish.
2. a metaphor for the small and often less well-known ingredients, restaurants, farmers, and artisans that San Francisco-based chef Brett Emerson writes about in this website.